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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27055717">Dream Lantern</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/moviekidd826/pseuds/moviekidd826'>moviekidd826</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Naruto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Bodyswap, Drama, Eventual Smut, Flashbacks, Fluff and Angst, Kimi no Na wa AU, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Romance, SasuNaru - Freeform, SasuNaruSasu - Freeform, Slash, Soulmates, Swearing, Temporary Character Death, Time Travel, Your Name AU, based heavily on Your Name, idk what else to tag</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 20:40:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>17,137</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27055717</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/moviekidd826/pseuds/moviekidd826</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"I'm always searching. For something, or someone. I think I know when this feeling possessed me. Just one day comes to mind. That day... The day the stars came falling. It was almost like a scene from a dream. Nothing more, nothing less than a beautiful view."</p><p>(or the Your Name AU that no one asked for but here it is anyways)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Uchiha Itachi/Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>72</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Extraordinary SNS Fics💕, Foxy fox 🦊, ShiIta is Love✨HashiMada is Life</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Who are you?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>hiii. i would like to start off by saying that this is (clearly) HEAVILY based on Your Name (if you've never seen it pls do it will change ur life). of course there will be many differences, but it will MOSTLY be based on the movie. </p><p>With that being said, i hope you enjoy. i think it's a terrible idea for me to start another fic when i just started for blue skies but OH WELL i've had this AU stuck in my head for so long and i just needed to pour it out. </p><p>pls lmk if there any mistakes in the comments (grammatical, story-wise, etc.)</p><p>Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto nor Your Name.</p>
    </blockquote><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“You woke up yelling at the top of your lungs,” Itachi clipped rather calmly, but a hint of bewilderment lurking in his dark, night orbs betrayed him. “You acted like you didn’t know who we were. You forgot you had school and claimed not to know your way there. Shisui and I had to walk with you.”</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Chapter One</strong>
</p><p>
  <em>“Naruto.”</em>
</p><p>Who was that? Who was calling his name?</p><p>
  <em>“Naruto. It’s me.” </em>
</p><p>That voice… It was a boy. Who was it?</p><p>
  <em>“Usuratonkachi.”</em>
</p><p>He sounded nervous, anxious. Expectant. Like Naruto should’ve recognized him, but he didn’t.</p><p>
  <em>“Don’t you recognize me?”</em>
</p><p>Before Naruto could reply, the sound of the train doors sliding open startled him, reminding him he was on a train. It was as if he could finally see, because now there was a boy and his pair of onyx eyes staring at Naruto, a hint of… something swirling in them. Hurt?</p><p>The boy had hair as dark as night, all smooth yet spiky, bangs framing his face. The paleness of his skin was such a striking contrast to Naruto’s own tan skin. His lips were pulled down into a frown, and somehow Naruto felt like it was his fault.</p><p>The boy was… <em>gorgeous</em>. But who was he?</p><p>Naruto’s mouth moved, but he couldn’t hear what he’d said. It was like all he could hear was the boy standing in front of him. There was pure agony on the boy’s face, as he was suddenly pulled away from Naruto by the push of the passengers disembarking.</p><p>“W-Wait! Who are you!” Naruto could finally hear his own voice as he called out to the stranger.</p><p>The boys’ eyes went wide as he tried to stretch out his arm to Naruto, “Sasuke! My name is Sasuke!”</p><p>He waved his fist at Naruto and it was only then that he realized that the boy – Sasuke – was trying to hand him something. Hurriedly, Naruto reached out to Sasuke’s hand and felt something cool shoved into it.</p><p>Before he could open his fist, he was suddenly back in bed, eyes opening.</p><p>Had he been dreaming? It hadn’t felt like dream. It felt like a memory.</p><p>
  <em>Sasuke.</em>
</p><p>That was his name. Who was he? Why had he called out to Naruto? What had he given to him?</p><p>Why had he looked so achingly beautiful?</p><p>
  <em>Perhaps it had been a dream… </em>
</p><p>It was suddenly disappearing from Naruto’s head. He tried to grasp it tightly, but he couldn’t. It was gone.</p><p>
  <em>He’d seemed so real.</em>
</p><p>Still, the sadness in his eyes haunted Naruto as he sat up in bed and stretched lazily, eyes blinking repeatedly as they adjusted to the sunlight.</p><p>
  <em>Wait… Where am I?</em>
</p><p>Naruto wasn’t in his room. For starters, this was a spacious, clean room, not his crammed up, messy room from his apartment with Iruka. He looked down at himself and flinched at the sight of his hands. They were… pale? What was going on?</p><p>He spotted a mirror in the corner of the room and stood up, almost tripping over his own feet in his hurry. When he walked over and looked at himself in the mirror, his heart almost stopped.</p><p>Because there, staring back at him, was not Naruto, but the boy! The boy from his dream! <em>Sas…</em> What was his name again?</p><p>Naruto grabbed the mirror by the edges and peered closer, feeling a trickle of sweat slide down the side of his face as the vision in the mirror didn’t change.</p><p>His breathing began to quicken as it transformed into hyperventilation, Naruto unable to catch his breath at the sheer panic that was assaulting his body. When he finally managed to breathe, he did the first thing he could think of.</p><p>He screamed.</p><p>The door to his room suddenly slid wide open and Naruto let out a shriek, turning around to see a long, raven-haired man – who looked extremely similar to his current reflection – staring at him with worried eyes and a spatula in one hand.</p><p>“Sasuke, are you all right?” The stranger’s voice was deep and commanding, drenched in alarm. His eyes flicked all over Naruto’s body, as if he were assessing for any injuries. “Otouto, talk to me!”</p><p>“Are you talking to me?” Naruto squeaked out, and then let out another yell at the sound of his voice that <em>wasn’t</em> <em>really</em> his voice ringing in his ears.</p><p>
  <em>Wait! He’d said Sasuke! That was the name of the boy from my dream!</em>
</p><p>The man took a step inside the room and Naruto scrambled back, yelling, “Don’t come any closer, you weirdo! Where’s Iruka? What’s going on? Who are you? Where am I?”</p><p>All he got in response was silence as the man cocked his head to the side and scrunched his eyebrows together. Suddenly, another man popped his head into the room, this one with short, slightly curly, unkempt hair and kind, dark eyes. He stared at Naruto in amusement, “What’s going on in here?”</p><p>Naruto remained unmoving, his eyes bouncing back between the two handsome men in front of him.</p><p>
  <em>What. The. Fuck.</em>
</p>
<hr/><p>Sasuke woke up in a flash, rising into a sitting position as a faint sheen of sweat glistened across his forehead. His bangs were sticking to his face, but he made no attempt to move them as he attempted to calm his beating heart.</p><p><em>That dream…</em> What had it been about? Who had he been calling out to? The name was on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn’t seem to remember… <em>A flash of yellow spikes… Tan skin… Faint scars… Sky-crystal eyes…</em> <em>Naru</em>-</p><p>His door was suddenly slid open and Sasuke was greeted by the sight of his older brother, who was looking at him with a wary expression, “Otouto?”</p><p>Sasuke simply lifted an eyebrow, masking his annoyance at having his thoughts interrupted, “Hn?”</p><p>His brother’s relieved sigh made his eyes widen slightly, “Oh, good. You’re back to being your normal, crabby self.” Before Sasuke could retort, Itachi was already closing his door, “Breakfast’s ready. Hurry up before Shisui eats your food.”</p><p><em>His normal, crabby self</em>? What had Itachi meant by that?</p><p>With an irked sigh, Sasuke wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. He pulled it back and grimaced at the sight of his sweat, deciding to take a quick shower before breakfast.</p><p>After his shower, he put on his school uniform, a white shirt and brown pants, and left his room, entering the kitchen while his thoughts continued to drift back to his dream. Almost on autopilot, he served himself rice and sat down, only then snapping away from his thoughts by the weight of two gazes fixed on him.</p><p>“What?” he snapped in irritation, looking between his cousin, who sat across him, and brother, who sat next to him.</p><p>Itachi sent Shisui a pointed look, but Shisui shook his head in amusement and pointed his chopsticks at Sasuke, “I gotta say, I think I liked you better yesterday, even if you were a little bit too loud.”</p><p>“Shisui,” Itachi scolded him, but his eyes danced with humor.</p><p>Sasuke was more confused than ever. “What are you talking about, dumbass?”</p><p>Itachi swallowed a bite of rice before saying, “Sasuke, it’s alright to be embarrassed, but don’t play the role of a fool. It doesn’t suit you.”</p><p>“What the fuck are you talking about!” Now he was more annoyed than confused. Were they pulling some sort of prank on him?</p><p>“We’re talking about how <em>insane</em> you acted yesterday,” Shisui laughed with his mouth full, seemingly not caring how ridiculous he looked.</p><p>Sasuke sent him a disgusted look but didn’t miss the way Itachi’s eyes looked at Shisui with a mixture of fondness and exasperation over his cup of tea.</p><p>“How was I insane?”</p><p>“You woke up yelling at the top of your lungs,” Itachi clipped rather calmly, but a hint of bewilderment lurking in his dark, night orbs betrayed him. “You acted like you didn’t know who we were. You forgot you had school and claimed not to know your way there. Shisui and I had to walk with you.”</p><p>Sasuke, who was chowing down a piece of egg he’d stolen off of Shisui’s plate, began to cough loudly, choking on the bits that got stuck in his throat. That got a laugh out of Shisui before he exclaimed, “That wasn’t even the scariest part. The scariest part was how you didn’t shut up once! Seriously! You kept rambling and going on and on about how beautiful everything looked and how realistic the ‘dream’ felt – which, by the way, we didn’t really understand what you meant by that.”</p><p>“Otouto, drink some water before you choke to death,” Itachi pushed the glass of water into Sasuke’s direction with indiscreet urgency. Only then was Sasuke finally able to breathe properly, after listening to his brother and downing the entire glass.</p><p>If they noticed the way Sasuke’s cheeks were slightly tinted pink in embarrassment, they made no comment as Sasuke scowled, “Can we stop talking about this already?”</p><p>He truthfully had no recollection of what they were saying, but he knew his brother well enough to know when he was lying, and Itachi was clearly <em>not</em> lying. He wouldn’t put it pass Shisui, always the prankster, but Sasuke did believe his brother. He didn’t want to admit how uneased he was beginning to feel, on top of the surreal dream that kept drifting in his mind.</p><p>He was saved, quite literally, by the bell when the speaker over the door roared to life. A woman’s voice announced, “<em>Good morning, everyone. Here are the morning announcements from Itomori Town Hall.</em>”</p><p>There were speakers situated in each house and all over the town. The speakers served to broadcast daily announcements about local events, but to also alert the town of any emergency.</p><p>Almost instantly, the mood in the room changed as sullen expressions formed on the three dark-haired youths. Suddenly, Sasuke had lost his appetite.</p><p>“<em>For the upcoming mayoral election, to be held on the 20<sup>th</sup> next month, the election committee–</em>”</p><p>The voice was cut off, Sasuke having stormed over to the speaker and unplugged it from the wall in brusque haste, failing to keep his anger in check.   </p><p>Shisui didn’t miss a beat, his hand reaching to the remote next to his plate and turning on the TV before an uncomfortable silence could infuse. Itachi was already looking gradually tense from where he sat.</p><p><em>“We’re now just a month away from a visit by a comet that appears only once every 1,200 years. The comet will be visible to the naked eye for several days,”</em> the news report lady was heard from the TV.</p><p>“Don’t you think you guys should try to talk to him–”</p><p>Shisui’s question slowly died down in his throat when he spotted the sour looks on the Uchiha brothers. It was Itachi who chastised him, “That’s enough, Shisui.”</p><p>
  <em>“Research agencies around the world, including JAXA, are preparing to observe the celestial show of the century.”</em>
</p><p>There was a flash of hurt on Shisui’s face, but he quickly masked it and put on a forced smile, “You’re right. It’s none of my business.”</p><p>He grabbed their finished plates – Sasuke and Itachi muttering their <em>thank you’s</em> under their breaths – and took them to the kitchen sink.</p><p>As Shisui faced away from them washing the dishes, Sasuke sent Itachi a pointed look. He knew Itachi hadn’t missed Shisui’s wounded expression, and although it was Itachi who was attached at Shisui’s hip and not Sasuke, he still felt oddly uncomfortable at seeing his distant cousin act like a kicked puppy.  </p><p>Itachi met Sasuke’s look and almost seemed sheepish when he sighed lowly. “Shisui, do you want my help?”</p><p>Over his shoulder, Shisui’s bright, eager smile was almost blinding, “Only if you insist, ‘tachi.”</p><p>Sasuke smirked in a teasing manner at Itachi, dodging Itachi’s attempt at ruffling his hair. Itachi joined Shisui at the kitchen sink, whispering between each other as Itachi dried the plates that Shisui washed.</p><p>Sasuke retreated back to his room in search of his necklace. It was black and so thin that it was hardly visible. It had two, small beads in the center that occasionally clicked against each other, depending on Sasuke’s movements. He grabbed it from where it sat on his dresser and laced it around his neck.</p><p>When he returned to the kitchen to grab a snack to eat on his way to school, he couldn’t help but overhear his brother’s conversation with Shisui.   </p><p>“Hey ‘tachi?” Shisui sounded so hesitant. When Sasuke discreetly took a peek at them, he saw the anxious manner in which Shisui was fidgeting his feet. Not to mention that the vigorous way that Shisui was scrubbing at the plate he currently held in his hands had Sasuke worried it was going to break in half any second.</p><p>He had to stifle a laugh.</p><p>“Hmm?” Itachi hummed, voice soft in a way that was uniquely for Shisui.</p><p><em>He’s such a sap, </em>Sasuke thought, highly amused.</p><p>“Are you planning on going to the Comet Festival?” Shisui was trying so hard to sound casual, but it sounded like anything but.</p><p>
  <em>Oh.</em>
</p><p>“The one at the end of the month?” Itachi’s eyebrows furrowed, wiping intently at a plate while shrugging his hair away from his face. Shisui gave him a sideways look that radiated <em>want</em>.</p><p>
  <em>Scratch that, they were both saps. </em>
</p><p>“That’s the one,” Shisui chuckled nervously, turning off the faucet and leaning his hip against the counter, now facing Itachi directly.</p><p>Sasuke knew they’d catch on his hovering, but he couldn’t bring himself to exit the kitchen. What he was witnessing was just too good. He might be late to school, but he didn’t really care.</p><p>Itachi, realizing that Shisui demanded his full attention, sat the plate down. “Yes, actually.”</p><p>Shisui beamed at Itachi, “That’s great! ‘Cause see, I-I was actually wondering if we could–”</p><p>“Izumi mentioned it to me the other day,” Itachi interrupted, not catching Shisui’s last words, “she asked me if I’d accompany her and I said yes. Why? Are you planning to go as well?”</p><p>Shisui’s entire demeanor transformed from hopefulness to utter heartbreak. He seemed at a loss for words, trying to stammer out a reply but nothing came out.</p><p>Briefly, Sasuke debated on whether or not he should pipe in and save his cousin, but Itachi, still completely oblivious, barreled on, “Do you want to join us? I’m sure Izumi wouldn’t mind.”</p><p>“No!” Shisui practically yelled, then slapped a hand over his mouth. Itachi had visibly flinched at Shisui’s outburst and was now staring at him with raised eyebrows. “I-I mean, no, thanks, but no. I, uh, I already have plans, so…”</p><p>“Oh…” Itachi’s voice appeared bemused, but he didn’t press Shisui any further. He looked like he wanted to say something but kept his mouth in a firm line.</p><p>“Anyways, I should go. I have to open the shop in a bit… I’ll see you later though?” Shisui was practically sprinting out of the house, leaving Itachi alone by the sink as he hurried over to his shoes and slipped them on. “Thanks for breakfast. See ya, Sasuke,” he mumbled, no usual witty remark to accompany it.</p><p>After Shisui left, Itachi stared dumbly at the door, and from where Sasuke stood he could physically see the wheels turning inside Itachi’s head. He quickly slapped his big brother over the head and maneuvered out of the way when Itachi tried to retaliate, bouncing towards the door.</p><p>“Is there a reason for this attack?”</p><p>“Yeah, I’m trying to see if I can slap the idiot out of you. No such luck so far,” Sasuke stated, stepping into his shoes while giving Itachi a flat look.</p><p>“Typical, your jokes don’t humor me,” Itachi drawled as he crossed his arms over his chest. Sasuke squinted, unable to tell if Itachi was feigning innocence or if he truly didn’t understand what Sasuke was talking about.</p><p>He grabbed his school bag from where it rested by the door and slung it over one shoulder. “You totally just blew off Shisui. He probably ran off to cry.”</p><p>At that, Itachi straightened up with piercing eyes, “What do you mean?”</p><p>Sasuke rolled his eyes. “He was trying to ask you out, Nii-san.”</p><p>Itachi blanched, his arms dropping to his sides. “What?”</p><p>“To the Comet Festival,” Sasuke emphasized every word, like he was speaking to a child. He huffed, “But you just <em>had</em> to mention Izumi. You know, he thinks you have a thing for her.”</p><p>There was still no color left in Itachi’s face when he choked out, “Asking me out? Don’t be ridiculous, Sasuke. Off you go to school.”</p><p>He spun around, so Sasuke was now left staring at Itachi’s back from across the room.</p><p>Sasuke sighed, feeling an uncomfortable itch in his throat at what he was about to say, “I know you… <em>like</em> him. It’s fine.” Itachi remained wordless, so Sasuke repeated, “It doesn’t matter to me, Itachi.”</p><p>From where he stood, Sasuke caught the way Itachi’s posture went rigid.</p><p>It’d always been an unspoken subject between them, but Sasuke knew what Itachi felt for Shisui, their <em>cousin</em>, or more importantly, distant cousin. Sasuke had known since he was a little kid. It’d been obvious then and it still was now. But Itachi was an idiot, who thought he still owed something to their worthless, piece of shit father that emotionally abandoned them the day their mother died and then physically the day Itachi legally became an adult and was able to take care of Sasuke.</p><p>Uchiha Fugaku was the current mayor of Itomori. He’d never cared about politics until Mikoto passed away. At first, Sasuke and Itachi had been sympathetic. They too had been lost in their own grief, so they understood that their father had struggled deeply. But, one day, he’d declared he was running for mayor, and after winning the election he became emotionally detached from his two sons. By the time Itachi turned twenty and was able to move out with Sasuke, the pair of brothers hadn’t had a single good memory with their father in years.</p><p>Of course, this meant that Sasuke didn’t give a shit about his father or the fact that he was mayor. He never caused a scene in public, but he also didn’t go out of his way to play the role of the doting, well-mannered son. Because of Sasuke’s attitude, there were rumors that Fugaku had a strained relationship with his sons, but Itachi’s public façade was enough to leave them at just that: <em>rumors</em>.</p><p>Itachi did play the roll and he played it well. He didn’t speak to Fugaku either, unless it was in public, but whenever he was asked about his father, he only had good things to say. It made Sasuke absolutely livid, especially when he knew that Itachi had been holding back from acting on his feelings because of Fugaku.</p><p>
  <em>As if the bastard deserved Itachi’s loyalty…   </em>
</p><p>Itomori was a rather insignificant small town. There were only around fifteen hundred residents, which meant that everybody knew everybody, or at least knew of each other through a common acquaintance. The Uchiha’s were one of the most predominant clans in the town. More than anybody else, they were very well known. Sasuke knew that Itachi believed that, despite being an (extremely) distant cousin of Shisui, it would still be a scandal if he were to date Shisui, since he was the mayor’s son and the town would see it as taboo. Personally, Sasuke didn’t think so, but even if it were true, he still didn’t see how that mattered. Their father could go fuck himself, for all Sasuke cared. If he was Itachi, he would relish in the opportunity to mess with his father and his reputation.</p><p>But sadly, he wasn’t Itachi. His big brother clearly had different morals.</p><p>“It might not matter to you, but it matters to everybody else. I don’t want you to bring up this subject again.”</p><p>“Itachi,” Sasuke’s hands were balled into fists, “our <em>father</em> doesn’t deserve your fucking loyalty. Shisui is–”</p><p>“Shisui is nothing!” Itachi snapped, slamming his hands down on the kitchen counter. “He’s<em> family</em>, Sasuke, nothing more. Whatever delusions you have about us isn’t my concern. Now go to school before you’re late.”</p><p>“But–”</p><p>“Sasuke!” it came out like a growl, and Sasuke recoiled slightly, “<em>Now</em>!”</p><p>Sasuke was fuming; he wasn’t sure if he wanted to punch his brother or his father. It pained him to see his brother sacrifice his heart for somebody who wasn’t worth it, but there was nothing he could do except hope that his words reached Itachi.</p><p>He slid open the front door to leave, but before he did, he called out over his shoulder, “What did you say earlier? How the role of a fool doesn’t suit me? That makes two of us, Nii-san. I’d add coward to your list as well.”</p><p>With that, he walked out and slid the door closed as hard he could. He paused for a moment, inhaling and exhaling slowly to calm down his anger and stop his tremors. Only anything regarding his father caused this type of reaction out of him and only anything ever will.</p><p>Once he calmed down enough, he walked down the steps that lead to the main road. There he began his walk to school, suddenly realizing he’d gotten so caught up in Itachi and Shisui’s conversation that he’d forgotten to grab a snack. There was honestly no way his day could get any worse.</p><p>“Sasuke!” a shrill voice yelled from behind him. He didn’t have to turn around to know it was Karin, one of his best friends, shouting out his name.</p><p>Two bicycles skidded to a stop at his sides respectively. To this left was Suigetsu with Karin sitting on the bike rack. To his right was Juugo, already leaning forward to make room for Sasuke to climb on board behind him.</p><p>Wordlessly, he hopped on, and they took off, driving down the road in direction to their school.</p><p>“Why do you look so pissed off? I thought your good mood would last you more than a day!” Karin grumbled, raising her voice to be heard over the sound of the wind.</p><p>“What good mood?” Sasuke inquired, narrowing his eyes at her.</p><p>Suigetsu cackled. “I told you he’d be back to being an asshole today! You owe me a lunch.”</p><p>Karin tugged at Suigetsu’s ear, earning a yelp out of him, “Shut up! You don’t have to rub it in!”</p><p>“Do you want me to crash my bike, you psycho?”</p><p>“Who are you calling a psycho?”</p><p>And so, their bickering began. Sasuke tsk’d, already used to their constant fights, learning how to tune them out. They fought all the time, claiming they didn’t like each other, but Sasuke suspected that once Karin got over her… unfortunate crush on him, she and Suigetsu would make a surprisingly good couple.</p><p>He gazed at the horizon, taking in the beauty of Itomori Lake that was located below them, although it wasn’t enough to make him want to stay in this town.</p><p>Juugo broke him from his thoughts, “They’re right, you know.”</p><p>“Right about what?”</p><p>“About you. You acted like you were possessed yesterday. You even had bed hair.”</p><p>“What!” Sasuke yelled, embarrassed at his reaction and at the fact that he hadn’t taken care of his appearance. Sasuke took great pride in the precision of his hairdo, and it bothered him that he’d apparently not bothered with it yesterday.</p><p>“You were nicer though,” Juugo added solemnly, as he and Suigetsu began to slow down their bikes at the sight of the school.</p><p>“And funny, for once,” Suigetsu piped in, having finished his fight with Karin.</p><p>“But you were too loud, it was kinda annoying,” Karin admitted, a faint blush on her cheeks but a defiant look in her eyes.</p><p>Sasuke felt completely bewildered. So, he hadn’t just acted weird with Itachi and Shisui, but with his friends as well?</p><p>What the hell was going on? Why couldn’t he remember anything? Had he really acted like a completely different person?</p>
<hr/><p>“‘Tasokare’ means ‘Who’s that in the gloom,’ and it’s where the word ‘gloaming’ comes from. You know what the ‘the gloaming’ is, right?” his teacher lectured by the chalkboard.</p><p>Sasuke was having trouble paying attention. He couldn’t stop thinking about Itachi. Maybe he had been too rough on his big brother. It was clear that Itachi more than liked Shisui and was most likely suffering from not being able to be with the man he loved. It made Sasuke’s chest tighten sadly at the mere thought of it.</p><p>He had never been in love. There wasn’t anybody in this town that remotely interested in him. It’d never truly bothered him, since he didn’t really want anything to tie him down to Itomori. He had plans of moving to Tokyo after graduation and no force of nature was going to stop him.</p><p>But for the first time in his seventeen years of life, he actually longed to feel something for somebody, if only to better understand his brother better.</p><p>“It’s twilight, when it’s neither day nor night. When the world blurs and you might encounter something not quite human,” his teacher continued.</p><p>Sasuke’s thoughts drifted back to everybody’s comments about his uncharacteristic behavior. It frustrated him to no ends that he couldn’t remember anything from the previous day. It was like there was a complete blank in Sasuke’s memory.</p><p>Could it have anything to do with his dream? Hadn’t Shisui mentioned something about Sasuke talking about a dream?</p><p>His dream from this morning… <em>That boy…</em> Why couldn’t he remember him? There was no face. There was no name. Just the fleeting sensation that there had been somebody important. But who?</p><p>“Let’s see… Uchiha?” his teacher suddenly called on him.</p><p>Sasuke was pulled away from his thoughts as he shrugged out a, “Hn?”</p><p>“Oh, so you remember your name today.”</p><p>The entire class erupted into laughter and snickers, all turning in their seats to look at Sasuke. He scowled back at them, not understanding the joke.</p><p>His teacher must’ve noticed she’d upset him because she waved her hand, “Never mind, Sasuke. Aburame? Do you know the answer?” She called on somebody else.</p><p>Everybody shifted their attention away from him, leaving Sasuke slumped in his seat with an exasperated but confused expression. He opened up his notebook swiftly to see what notes he’d taken the previous day; perhaps they’d give him some clue as to what everybody was talking about.</p><p>What he saw made him freeze, face paling instantly.</p><p>There, written in a handwriting that wasn’t his own, was a question that glared at him:</p><p>
  <em>Who are you?</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>sooo... how was that? yes? no? lmk if this is something ppl are actually interested in reading!! lmao </p><p>in case u got confused, the first bit was naruto in sasuke's body and then the rest is sasuke in his own body. </p><p>itachi/shisui will remain untagged for the moment until i figure out if they're gonna have their own spotlight on the sidelines (lmk if this is something you want to see? or not?)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Who was that?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Placing his hand on Sasuke’s shoulder, Fugaku spoke through his forced grin, “You never fail to disappoint me, Sasuke. It’d do you good to learn from Itachi.”</p><p> </p><p>  <em>I should’ve learned from you. </em></p><p> </p><p>Mortified at how weak he was for still feeling a shrivel of yearning for his father, Sasuke ignored the hot blush that was spreading from his neck to his face, roughly shrugging Fugaku’s hand off his shoulder. He grabbed his school bag and hastily got to his feet.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>*chuckles nervously* hello, i just want to say i'm SO SORRY for taking so long to publish this chapter. if u follow my other stories, you'd probably heard about how crazy these last few weeks have been for me. i was busy with school and moving into my new apartment, and then my puppy Shisui was hospitalized for a few days. i almost lost him, so it was a really scary time. i was too emotionally exhausted to write. but my fur baby is finally home and safe, so cheers to that! i couldn't ask for anything better :)))</p><p>but i was able to plan out every chapter perfectly, so updates should come much faster now. i'm (almost) positive this story will have 15 chapters. </p><p>if you've stuck around so far, thank u sm!!! if you've left me feedback, thank u sm!!! seriously means the world to me. enjoy!!</p><p>Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto nor Your Name.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Chapter Two</strong>
</p><p>It was lunchtime and Sasuke was outside in the schoolyard with his friends, sitting cross-legged on the ground with his hands to his sides, leaning on them while he blinked up at the sky. He’d lost his appetite, his stomach not being able to stomach any food at the moment as a result of his troubling mind.</p><p>“I don’t get it. You don’t remember anything at all from yesterday?” Suigetsu spoke after swallowing a bite out of Sasuke’s forgotten sandwich, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.</p><p>“Ew, you’re so gross!” Karin sneered before Sasuke could reply, shoving Suigetsu’s shoulder with her elbow. “Would it kill you to use a napkin?”</p><p>Bits of food spluttered out of Suigetsu’s mouth as he managed to say, “Yeah, I totally would if I had one.”</p><p>Seeing Suigetsu made Sasuke think of Shisui during breakfast, which only made his stomach stir more. That was another subject bouncing around his mind: Shisui and Itachi.</p><p>Still with a disgusted look, she huffed, “Learn to bring one!” With her cheeks slightly pink, she added, “Sasuke never eats without a napkin.”</p><p>“Seriously, enough with the Sasuke talk! We get it! You’re obsessed with his d–”</p><p>Juugo clapped his hand over Suigetsu’s mouth, preventing him from finishing. Sasuke sighed in exasperation, closing his eyes as Karin cursed loudly at Suigetsu.</p><p>A day never went by where Karin and Suigetsu didn’t bicker. You’d think that by now they’d realize they have unresolved feelings for each other, but they were morons. Karin was still nursing an unrequited crush on Sasuke and Suigetsu pretended like he didn’t think Karin was hot. The whole situation was idiotic to Sasuke, but he didn’t care enough to meddle. It was their problem.</p><p>“You’re both so annoying.”</p><p>He could feel Suigetsu scowling and Karin pouting even with his eyes closed. When he opened them, it was with a light smirk tugging at his lips.</p><p>“If you’re done,” Sasuke sent them a pointed look, “then no. I can’t remember a single thing. It’s… bizarre.”</p><p>“Weird,” Suigetsu muttered, sneaking glances at Karin who had her face turned away from him as she drank her juice box.</p><p>“What <em>do</em> you remember?” Juugo inquired, confusion swirling inside his eyes.</p><p>“Nothing. I almost felt like I was dreaming,” then he shook his head out of how ridiculous those words sounded, but he truly didn’t have a better explanation.</p><p>Sasuke couldn’t exactly remember what he’d dreamed about; he just remembered the vivid feeling it left behind when he finally opened his eyes.</p><p>
  <em>That and the color blue… </em>
</p><p>“Well, whatever it was, I’m glad you’re back to your normal self,” Karin piped in, twirling a strand of her fire hair with her finger. Under her breath, she scoffed, “Now I don’t- I mean, <em>we</em> don’t have to share you again.”</p><p>“Hn?” Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her.</p><p>As if on cue, a chorus of voices said in unison, “Hi, Sasuke!”</p><p>Whipping his head to the side, Sasuke was met with a group of girls from his grade, all blushing and smiling at him, their wide, love dazed eyes focused on Sasuke.</p><p>Before he could scowl at them, they were already walking away, giggling and chattering among themselves. A few looked over their shoulders to wave at him goodbye before disappearing back inside the school.</p><p>“See what I mean?” Karin gritted out, accidentally crushing her juice box out of pure wrath, the leftover juice spraying all over her uniform. She paid no mind to it, glaring in direction to where the girls disappeared.</p><p>Despite not thinking it was possible, Sasuke had reached an even higher level of confusion in the day. “What just happened?”</p><p>“What do you mean?” Suigetsu snorted, slapping a hand on Sasuke’s shoulder while ignoring his scowl. “That was your fan club!”</p><p>“Right, but why did they just speak to me?”</p><p>“Because you spent your entire lunch hour with them yesterday,” Juugo explained, his eyes following a butterfly’s every movement.</p><p>At that, Sasuke straightened up, his hands coming to rest on his knees as he spluttered out, “I did <em>what</em>?!”</p><p>Suigetsu’s laugh was loud, <em>too</em> loud, but not enough to silence the ringing in Sasuke’s ears. In response, Sasuke’s fist connected with Suigetsu’s shoulder, sending him sprawling all over the ground. It didn’t faze the white-haired teenager, though, who simply laughed harder at Sasuke, his arms clutching at his stomach.</p><p>Sasuke bit out, “Seriously, stop fucking with me. It’s not funny.”</p><p>“We’re not, Sasuke! You really did ditch us yesterday for <em>them</em>.” Karin’s voice was dripping with envy.</p><p>Suigetsu sat back up, wiping at his tears of joy with a grin on his face. “We’re telling ya, you were so different yesterday!” Ignoring Sasuke’s eyebrows twitching, Suigetsu continued, “Man, you said something so fucking hilarious yesterday… What was it? Oh! You asked how it was possible for you to have a stick shoved so far up your ass that you couldn’t appreciate some pretty girls.” Then he erupted into another fit of laughter.</p><p><em>Maybe because I’m gay</em>, Sasuke wanted to say, but didn’t. He wasn’t embarrassed, and he knew his friends would never judge or reject him for it – except Karin who would probably cry about it for a few days. But he just didn’t see the point of divulging such personal details of himself when he had no plans of acting on his feelings. Yes, he liked boys, but there wasn’t anybody in Itomori who interested him, so what was the point?</p><p>The fact that he was gay though meant that Sasuke would rather die – quite literally fling himself in front of a moving car – before ever speaking a word to his ‘fan club’, as Suigetsu called them.</p><p>Sasuke knew he was attractive. He was an Uchiha after all; they’d all been freakishly blessed with good genes, which was a fact among the town. <em>Everybody</em> knew every Uchiha and <em>everybody</em> practically drooled over them, which of course irked Sasuke. Nobody in school really knew him – except his three idiot friends – yet they fawned over him anyways, just because of his good looks. Luckily, everybody was aware that Sasuke was, well, different than the other Uchihas.</p><p>Sasuke wasn’t like Itachi who – although had an intimidating appearance – was very kind, gentle and soft spoken. He was known for always having the perfect words prepared for anybody who needed advice. In Sasuke’s opinion, the smug bastard was too wise and clever for his own good. But that only meant that Itachi was admired and well-liked by everybody in town. Of course, he went to great lengths to appear this way for the sake of their father, but even if he didn’t that was still who Itachi was to his core.</p><p>Sasuke wasn’t like Shisui, arguably the most popular Uchiha in Itomori. With his wild curls and charming smile and genuine eyes, everybody was drawn to Shisui. He was quite the celebrity, on first-name basis with almost everyone. Sasuke would joke that Shisui should run for mayor next. That’s how loved he was by everybody, especially by the girls. But like a lovesick fool, Shisui only had eyes for Itachi. Sasuke can’t remember ever seeing Shisui act romantically towards anyone else in his entire life.</p><p>The thought made Sasuke’s chest ache.</p><p>There were more Uchihas in Itomori. There was Izumi, a girl who graduated from high school with Itachi and was also the prettiest Uchiha. He’d had to hear Suigetsu more than once talk about how cute she was with her long, brown hair and a mole under her right eye. She was just like Shisui, hopelessly devoted to Itachi, except she hardly stood a chance, if anybody asked Sasuke.</p><p>Some Uchihas had left Itomori, like Obito who’d moved to Tokyo to chase his childhood best friend and love of his life Rin. Sasuke wasn’t sure if it’d worked out, but he hoped it had. He didn’t want to imagine what Obito would be like if he’d had to live without Rin. It made Sasuke shiver just thinking about it.</p><p>Nonetheless, the Uchihas were all very sociable. All except Sasuke, of course. It wasn’t that he was antisocial per se, but Sasuke just steered clear of anybody he didn’t have to interact with. He was doing just fine with his small circle of precious people. He saw no reason to entertain anybody else with false pretenses of any type of relationship when he was counting down the days to leave for Tokyo and never look back.</p><p>Therefore, Sasuke had never spoken to his fan club. <em>Ever</em>. And they hadn’t tried to speak to him either because they knew how cold Sasuke would be. They simply admired him from afar, lamenting that nobody stood a chance with the raven-haired teenager.</p><p>So, the fact that – according to his friends – Sasuke had willingly not only conversed with them but had spent an entire hour with his fan club, had his head spinning. He honestly felt dizzy.</p><p>What in the hell was going on? Why couldn’t he remember a thing?</p><p>Pulling Sasuke out of his thoughts, a sharp, authoritative voice barked out, “Sasuke! Get off the ground!”</p><p>His friends immediately stiffening would’ve been a clear indication of whose voice that’d been, if Sasuke hadn’t already recognized it as a result of having it ingrained inside of his head from childhood memories.</p><p>A few steps away stood the mayor of Itomori, Uchiha Fugaku, (unfortunately) Sasuke’s father, staring at him with narrowed, disappointed eyes, the school’s principal hovering awkwardly next to him. Clearly, Fugaku thought it was disgraceful for Sasuke to be sitting on the floor. The man couldn’t be more ridiculous even if he tried.</p><p>Defiantly, Sasuke cocked his head to the side, “No, I think I’m good, <em>Father</em>,” and gave him his most shit eating grin, instantly relishing at the way his father’s eye twitched at Sasuke’s words.</p><p>Quietly, almost discreetly, Karin whispered under her breath, “Sasuke, maybe it’s best not to–” but her voice died down in a squeak when Fugaku suddenly stood towering over them, the weight of his gaze aiming to make Sasuke crumple. Sasuke heard a low growl escape Juugo’s mouth and felt him shift closer to him. To his other side, Suigetsu mimicked Juugo’s actions. Sasuke only had a second to feel embarrassingly warm under his friends’ protection before he shifted his attention back to Fugaku.</p><p>His eyes were only on Sasuke, pinning him with his gaze, but Sasuke glared right at back, not caring that he was causing a scene. His father knew better than to try to boss Sasuke around in public. It was his fault for trying to get away with it in the first place.</p><p>“<em>Son</em>,” Fugaku spoke low enough for only Sasuke and his friends to hear, and with the same sarcastic tone that Sasuke had used earlier, which made Sasuke’s grin falter slightly, “when your father tells you to do something, it’s custom to listen to him.”</p><p>There was fury and resentment flowing through Sasuke like hot, melting lava. He had already been having a shitty day. Fugaku’s addition was the last thing Sasuke had needed, especially when he was to blame for Itachi’s inability to be with the man he loved.</p><p>It was Itachi’s predicament that ultimately spurred on Sasuke’s next words. Hands trembling and stomach twisting, Sasuke enunciated very carefully, “You and I both know you stopped being my father years ago.”</p><p>Fugaku’s eyes visibly startled and Sasuke could’ve sworn he saw his armor crack slightly – even if it’d only been fleeting – before it was back on.</p><p>Fugaku smiled, his artificial, politician smile, always caring more about appearances than his actual sons. Instead of feeling angry, Sasuke was struck with a pang of sadness. Underneath it all, Sasuke had only been a little boy who never understood his father’s abandonment.</p><p>Placing his hand on Sasuke’s shoulder, Fugaku spoke through his forced grin, “You never fail to disappoint me, Sasuke. It’d do you good to learn from Itachi.”</p><p>
  <em>I should’ve learned from you. </em>
</p><p>Mortified at how weak he was for still feeling a shrivel of yearning for his father, Sasuke ignored the hot blush that was spreading from his neck to his face, roughly shrugging Fugaku’s hand off his shoulder. He grabbed his school bag and hastily got to his feet.</p><p>“Sasuke, hold on–”</p><p>“Don’t go!”</p><p>“It’s not worth it, man.”</p><p>He ignored his friends’ pleas. He needed to get out of there before he did something he’d regret. As he stormed off, Sasuke heard Fugaku let out an irritated sigh. That was all it took for Sasuke to finally snap.</p><p>There was a trashcan nearby and Sasuke flung a kick at it, sending it flying in the air, the garbage spreading all across the schoolyard. Gasps and murmurs echoed around him, but he continued to stalk off without glancing back. He knew he’d be in big trouble, considering the principal had witnessed his act of aggression, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.</p><p>Walking out of the school to skip school for the rest of the day, there was only one thing Sasuke regretted: not looking over his shoulder to catch a glimpse of his bastard of a father’s face.</p><hr/><p>By the time Sasuke reached Shisui’s auto repair shop his anger had evaporated. Now he just felt exhausted and slightly sheepish at the scene he caused. He wasn’t looking forward to discussing it with Itachi, but he figured it was best to get it out of the way sooner rather than later, which was why he was here. There weren’t many job opportunities in Itomori, and since Itachi hadn’t wanted to move to Tokyo, he worked with Shisui, repairing cars and the occasional bikes.</p><p>When Sasuke stepped into the shop, however, Itachi was nowhere to be seen. Underneath an old, beaten down car, was Shisui on a car creeper, humming a song while he tinkered away. Sasuke knew it was him because Shisui was the only idiot who sung and hummed every second of every day. It was fucking annoying to Sasuke, but, of course, endearing to Itachi.</p><p>He walked over to where Shisui’s feet were poking out of the car and kicked them half-heartedly, “Oi!”</p><p>“Sasuke? Is that you?” Shisui’s muffled voice sounded confused. Well, no surprise there. It was the middle of the day and Sasuke wasn’t at school.</p><p>When Shisui rolled out, his face reflected his earlier tone of voice, but he still smiled at Sasuke. “What ya doing here, brat? Shouldn’t you be at school?”</p><p>“Skipped,” Sasuke shrugged, eyeing the smudges of oil on Shisui’s face but not commenting on them. “Where’s Nii-san?”</p><p>“He went to eat lunch- wait, did you say skipped? You’re skipping school right now?”</p><p>“Yes, Shisui,” Sasuke said, rolling his eyes and grabbing a chair from the corner of the room. He dragged it back to where Shisui was and sat down. “Those keen detective skills of yours are top notch.”</p><p>Shisui frowned, eyeing him warily. “Don’t be a dick just because you fucked up, and don’t even try to deny it. You’re sitting in my shop right now sulking and asking for your brother, so what gives? Did you get into a fight or something?”</p><p>“I guess you could say that.”</p><p>A small rag was thrown at Sasuke’s face, “Elaborate. What did you do? I can’t help you with Itachi if you don’t give me a heads up.”</p><p>“Please,” Sasuke scoffed, “when have you ever taken my side over Itachi’s? Don’t kid yourself.”</p><p>The sight of Shisui’s pink cheeks made Sasuke snort, which in turn had Shisui grumbling, “Fine, you’re on your own then.”</p><p>“Alright, alright! Our… father showed up at school. Probably had a meeting with the principal, I don’t really fucking know. We ended up having a small discussion, so I left school.”</p><p>“That’s it?” Shisui asked suspiciously. “Are you sure you’re not hiding anything?”</p><p>Sasuke looked away when he muttered, “I might have kicked a trash can in front of the entire school.”</p><p>Shisui’s groan bounced off the shop’s walls. Sasuke scowled, still not meeting his eyes. “You’re such a dumbass. Why’d you do that? What if you get expelled, huh?”</p><p>“I’m not going to get expelled,” Sasuke rushed out, then hesitated. He wasn’t going to get expelled, right? He let out a long breath, “Look, I was angry, okay?”</p><p>“Yeah, I don’t really doubt that, Sasuke. Not an excuse, though, at least not to ‘tachi.”</p><p>“You think I don’t know that?” Sasuke snapped, dragging his hand down his face. “The bastard just knows how to get under my fucking skin. I kept thinking about you and Itachi from this morning and I just–”</p><p>There was a loud clang that rung out in the shop from Shisui accidentally dropping his wrench. He floundered to catch it, then looked back at Sasuke all flustered. “What, um,” his voice cracked slightly, and he cleared his throat. “Whaddaya mean me and Itachi? Nothing – nothing happened this morning.”</p><p>Sasuke gave him his biggest unimpressed look. “It’s just me here. We can address the elephant in the room. I’m talking about your lame attempt at asking Nii-san out.”</p><p>Shisui’s blush fired up again, this time disappearing down his chest. <em>Poor guy</em>. He chuckled nervously, crossing his arm against his chest to scratch his elbow idly, “Sasuke, I don’t–”</p><p>“Seriously? We all know there’s only one moron in here and it’s not me.”</p><p>His mouth opened, almost as if to deny it again, but then Shisui closed it and heaved out a sigh. “It’s that obvious, eh?”</p><p>“Mm-hm,” Sasuke agreed, shifting in his seat.</p><p>“Gods, I was so embarrassed,” Shisui moaned, and closed his eyes, pressing his wrench against his forehead. When he opened them up again, they were drowning in envy, “He’s going with Izumi… As if I could ever compare.”</p><p>At that, Sasuke <em>tsk’d</em>, rolling his eyes at Shisui for the second time that day, “Again, you’re the only moron here. How can you say that? Itachi doesn’t care for her. At least, not like he cares for you.”</p><p>This time, Shisui’s eyes look a tad hopeful, “Did he say anything to you? About, erm, me.”</p><p>Sasuke hesitated, “Not exactly, but–”</p><p>Shisui was already shaking his head, a sad smile on his lips, “Well, that’s that then. Itachi doesn’t feel the same way.”</p><p>“Can you stop with the dramatics!” Sasuke seethed. “We both know it’s because of our <em>father</em>–”</p><p>“Speaking of your father,” Shisui interrupted him once again, clearly looking to change the subject, “Your brother is going to kill you when he finds out–”</p><p>“Finds out what?” Itachi’s voice inquired, making the other two Uchihas jump in fright.</p><p>
  <em>Where the fuck had he come from?</em>
</p><p>“Jesus, ‘tachi!” Shisui gasped out, a hand pressed to his chest. “We’re gonna have to start putting a bell on you!”</p><p>Itachi’s lips quirked up ever so slightly at Shisui, “You have oil on your face,” before its traces disappeared, his mouth in a flat line as he regarded Sasuke, “Why aren’t you at school?”</p><p>Sasuke flinched at the same time he heard Shisui mumble under his breath while he rubbed at his face, “Oh boy, here we go.”</p><p>When Itachi merely raised an eyebrow, patiently waiting for Sasuke’s explanation, Sasuke took a shaky breath before telling Itachi about his day.</p><hr/><p>“I hate you.”</p><p>“Uh-huh,” Itachi smiled smugly, the clack of spherical weights knocking together as they braided their cords.</p><p>“You know I hate doing this,” Sasuke whined, struggling with his cord. When Shisui – from the corner of the room where he was winding thread around the ball-weights – tried to reach out to help Sasuke, Itachi shook his head at him. Instantly Shisui recoiled, shrugging apologetically at Sasuke and mouthing <em>I’m sorry</em>.</p><p>“You must practice. Mother always said to listen to the voice of the thread. She believed emotions ran between us and the threads,” Itachi spoke matter-of-factly.</p><p>“If that’s true then how come this thread hasn’t burst into flames already?” His sourly voice said under his breath.</p><p>“Did you say something, Otouto?”</p><p>“No, nothing at all,” Sasuke grumbled, sounding completely miserable.</p><p>This had been Sasuke’s punishment for causing a scene and skipping school. He had to braid his own cord for their Kuchikamizake ceremony later in the night. Initially, Shisui had volunteered to braid Sasuke’s cord for him, since he was a natural at it, but Itachi had decided to make Sasuke suffer through it himself.</p><p>Braided cords were made of thin threads plaited together into a single rope. It was a traditional folk art that’d been handed down for a very long time. The completed cords consisted of bright colors and designs.</p><p>“I don’t even understand why we’re doing this ceremony. We’re not even shrine maidens.”</p><p>Shisui chuckled, “You’re definitely <em>not</em> shrine maidens.”</p><p>“You’re right, Sasuke, we’re not, but this was important to Mother, and as you can see, she’s gone and left no daughters behind. It’s up to us to carry on our family’s traditions.”</p><p>Sasuke said nothing at that. His brother was right. He should learn to suck it up for their mother. He should be grateful that Mikoto had managed to pass down the traditions to Itachi before her untimely death. This was another way to still have a piece of their mother.</p><p>“What else did Mother say?”</p><p>Itachi smiled softly, appreciating his brother making an effort. As he continued braiding, he said, “Well, our braided cords hold a thousand years of Itomori’s history. Because of the Great Mayugorou Fire, the old records were lost. Now we don’t know what our dances or the patterns in our cords represent, but Mother believed it was important to continue it on, because sooner or later the meaning would resurface once again.”</p><p>Sasuke nodded solemnly, staring down at his hands that braided the cords. They were going to use their cords for their Kuchikamizake ceremony, in which they chewed rice and spat it as a means of fermenting it to make sake or alcohol as an offering to the gods. Afterwards, they’d take their Kuchikamizake to their Miyamisu Shrine and offer it to the kami, which were the gods/spirits.</p><p>It was their duty, as Mother had reminded Itachi and now Itachi reminded him.</p><p>Still, like usual, he couldn’t fight the nagging feeling of longing. Longing for a new city, a new life.</p><p>He shoved the feeling down, looking down at his red cord, images of blue eyes and blond hair flashing through his mind so quickly they were gone before Sasuke could react.</p><p>
  <em>What? Who was that?</em>
</p><hr/><p>After the ceremony, Sasuke walked with Shisui and Itachi back to their house. The older Uchihas were speaking softly to each other, like they tended to do, while Sasuke remained quiet, holding his Kuchikamizake in his hands.</p><p>He still felt off and confused about yesterday’s events. Sasuke hadn’t been able to come up with a logical explanation for them yet. And then there was the fact that he kept thinking about and seeing the color blue each time he blinked.</p><p>It all felt incredibly surreal.</p><p>“Sasuke, stop thinking so hard. You’re going to hurt yourself,” Shisui teased, eyes shining at the way he earned a chuckle out of Itachi.</p><p>“Yeah, yeah,” was all Sasuke said.</p><p>“What’s wrong?” Itachi questioned, face softening in his typical big brother way whenever he saw Sasuke struggling with anything. “Are you worried about school? I told you I talked to Father and he told me he handled everything. You’re fine to go tomorrow.”</p><p>Sasuke hadn’t wanted to tell Itachi how beyond pissed he’d been at hearing that his father had bailed him out of his problem. He didn’t want to owe the asshole anything. It was too late to do anything about it, so Sasuke had to suck it up and just be thankful he hadn’t gotten expelled.</p><p>“No, it’s not that. It’s- It’s nothing really,” Sasuke smiled weakly at Itachi, but he could tell Itachi wasn’t buying it.</p><p>An arm suddenly slung over his shoulder and Shisui was pressing the side of his face against Sasuke’s, “Ah, I betcha you’re in there just thinking about that wish of yours.” He ruffled his hair before letting Sasuke go, laughing loudly at Sasuke’s scowl.</p><p>“Hm?” Sasuke asked, wondering what Shisui was going on about this time.</p><p>“The one you proclaimed a few days ago,” Shisui raised an eyebrow at him then sighed in amusement. “You were ranting about Itomori again and said you wanted to be a Tokyo boy in your next life. Don’t you remember?”</p><p>Sasuke suddenly froze in place. It took Shisui and Itachi a few steps before realizing so and turning around to stare at Sasuke.</p><p>His wish. Shisui was right. Sasuke had wished for that, although he’d said it half-kidding.</p><p>But…</p><p>Those flashes that kept bombarding Sasuke’s mind. Blue eyes. Blond hair. Whiskered cheeks. Bright laugh. A cramped apartment. A man with a scar that ran across the bridge of his nose. Two friends, a red-haired boy with a tattoo on his forehead and a brown-haired one with red markings on his cheeks. A restaurant. A pink-haired girl with emerald green eyes.</p><p>It’d all felt like a dream, but at the same time too vivid to be one. In reality, it felt like… somebody else’s life.</p><p>No. It wasn’t possible. Unless… Could it be?</p><p>Was Sasuke dreaming, no, <em>living</em> somebody else’s life?</p><p>But how?</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>how was that??? i'd love love love to hear your thoughts. i'm trying to remain loyal to the original work while still adding in my own twists.</p><p>i didn't include the ceremony scene bc i didn't want to completely butcher such a beautiful tradition, hope that was okay with you guys. </p><p>i know not much happened this chapter, but in the next chapter the body switching officially starts!! i'm so excited :)))</p><p>don't be shy, let me know what you think ;) kudos are very much appreciated as well!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Sasuke</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“Where the hell am I?” He questioned aloud, only to gasp in bewilderment, hands clutching his throat and eyebrows reaching his hairline.</p><p>  <em>Was that… Was that my voice? That’s not my voice! This voice is raspy and low, mine isn’t– What the–</em></p><p>It was only then that he took a second to look down at himself to find he was wearing a pair of long, orange pajama pants and nothing else. He looked over his arms and torso in wonder, mind frozen at the sight of the tan skin that seemingly belonged to him.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>HELLOOOOOO. you didn't think i'd actually forgotten about this fic, right??? ;) i apologize for taking so long to update. school got so crazy so fast and then finals crept up on me and AGH, it was exhausting. however, i'm finally done with the semester, so now i have allllll the time in the world to write (until January... lmao). i didn't really look over this chapter or edit bc it's almost 3am and i'm very sleepy, so if u catch any mistakes feel free to lmk. i'll look over the chapter tomorrow morning. </p><p>Anyway, I hope you enjoy this 8k chapter, which is double what I usually write!! &lt;333</p><p>Warnings: Mild violence. There's a very brief fighting scene. </p><p>Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto nor Your Name.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Chapter Three</strong>
</p><p>There was a loud, unfamiliar ringtone blaring insistently in Sasuke’s ears. He groaned loudly, his hand flailing to reach for his phone where he usually laid it beside his futon.</p><p>
  <em>Why the hell is it so fucking loud? </em>
</p><p>To his surprise, he couldn’t reach it, but his eyes remained stubbornly shut as he inched closer to the side, only to land with a deafening thud to the ground. Momentarily, he felt the wind knocked out of him and prayed to any deity up there that Itachi, or worse, <em>Shisui</em>, hadn’t heard him. The last thing he needed was for them to tease him for falling out of his bed–</p><p>
  <em>Wait, bed?! I don’t own a bed!</em>
</p><p>He instantly sat up and finally opened his eyes, only to find himself in what was – quite possibly – the messiest room he’d ever seen in his life. This was most definitely not his room! There was chaos everywhere, like a tornado had barreled through the room with no remorse. Sasuke could barely even see the floor. It was covered with what he suspected were dirty clothes and – curiously – pieces of forgotten drawings. He grabbed the closest one near him, next to his right leg, and examined it.</p><p>It was a portrait of a girl with long, bubblegum pink hair and forest green eyes. She had an interesting mark on her forehead in the shape of a diamond. She looked almost amused, her eyes dancing with a hint of humor, as if she were laughing at whoever was drawing her. It distinctly reminded Sasuke of the way Itachi tended to look at him – fondly and protectively.</p><p>Sasuke would admit, she was definitely pretty, not that he cared either way, but he would still acknowledge it, and whoever had drawn these pictures <em>definitely</em> thought so as well, judging by the other drawings of her that were scattered across the room.</p><p><em>Somebody clearly has a crush</em>, he thought, <em>although I’m not getting the same vibe from her… </em></p><p>This entire ordeal begged the question, though….</p><p>“Where the hell am I?” He questioned aloud, only to gasp in bewilderment, hands clutching his throat and eyebrows reaching his hairline.</p><p>
  <em>Was that… Was that my voice? That’s not my voice! This voice is raspy and low, mine isn’t– What the–</em>
</p><p>It was only then that he took a second to look down at himself to find he was wearing a pair of long, orange pajama pants and nothing else. He looked over his arms and torso in wonder, mind frozen at the sight of the tan skin that seemingly belonged to him.</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">A few minutes later, he stumbled upon a bathroom and quickly ran into it, locking the door behind him.</span>
</p><p>Now staring at himself in the reflection of the mirror, he felt utterly dumbstruck.</p><p>Staring back at him was a boy with spiky, messy blond hair. It was long, but not too long. The spikes only fell slightly on his forehead, and all Sasuke had to do was sweep them away once with his fingers to keep them at bay. When he continued to run them down his face, they paused at his strong, square jawline. There were three distinctive scars on each cheek, almost like whiskers. Sasuke couldn’t help but wonder what caused them. He had slightly chapped, full lips that, when Sasuke tentatively smiled at the mirror, revealed a set of perfectly straight, white teeth. His eyebrows were thick, and his nose was broad and slightly upturned.</p><p>But his eyes… He’d seen these eyes before… but where? They were wide, round and <em>blue</em>. Blue like the endless sky that loomed over Itomori. Blue like the calming lake that surrounded the shrine. Blue like the forget-me-nots that bloomed around his home.</p><p>There was something about them that seemed almost childlike. Not in immaturity but in naivety. These eyes seemed like they looked at the world through a special lens and saw nothing but hope and peace, a world worth living for.</p><p>Sasuke was so startled by his train of thought that he quickly shook his head, halting it in its track.</p><p>This was all so bizarre. What was happening?</p><p>
  <em>Am I dreaming? Or am I…?</em>
</p><p><em>No</em>, he denied to himself, <em>that’s ridiculous. I’m not even gonna go there.</em></p><p>Still, it was the most realistic dream he’d ever had. And these eyes… His hand hovered slightly over one, still looking into the mirror, when somebody knocked on the bathroom door.</p><p>“Naruto, are you in there?”</p><p>Sasuke jumped, clutching the sink and staring at the bathroom door in fear.</p><p>
  <em>Naruto? Does he mean me?</em>
</p><p>Hesitantly, Sasuke opened the door and peeked outside, but found the hallway empty. He made his way in what he figured was the living room that connected to the kitchen.</p><p>This apartment really was small. He finally understood the meaning of a ‘shoebox apartment’.  </p><p>By the kitchen sink was a man washing the dishes, his back facing Sasuke. He eyed the figure warily, but said nothing, not wanting to reveal his presence yet so he could further analyze his surroundings. Unfortunately, the man decided that was the perfect moment to look over his shoulder, and he spotted Sasuke lurking.</p><p>A warm, kind smile instantly erupted across his face, and Sasuke visibly flinched. The man had brown hair tied in a high ponytail and was dressed in a white button-down shirt and black slacks. There was a lengthy scar that stretched across the bridge of his nose.</p><p>
  <em>I’ve seen that scar before…</em>
</p><p>“Hey, brat. You had me worried there for a second. Are you feeling okay?” the man spoke calmly, turning back to face the kitchen sink.</p><p>Sasuke hesitated, unsure of what to say or how to speak, but settled with, “I’m fine. I… apologize for worrying you.”</p><p>The man abruptly dropped a plate and quickly turned off the sink. He now faced Sasuke fully with an alarmed expression, reaching out to dry his hands with a towel without removing his eyes off of Sasuke.</p><p>“You 'apologize'?” He sounded perplexed. “Since when have you ever apologized for the thousands of heart attacks you’ve given me these last five years?”</p><p>Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows at that. <em>The last five years? Well, it figures…</em> This man did look far too young to be his father, but who exactly was he? An older brother like Itachi? He didn’t bare any physical resemblance to the blond boy he’d seen earlier in his reflection, but it still wasn’t unlikely. He could be some type of relative.</p><p>“Well, never mind that. Don’t think an apology gets you out of trouble,” he waggled a finger in Sasuke’s direction. “It was your turn to make breakfast this morning. You overslept, again!”</p><p>“Right, sorry about that,” Sasuke apologized again, although this time it came through gritted teeth. He hated feeling out of the loop. It annoyed him to no end, and right now he was going crazy with this ‘dream’.</p><p>Again, the man looked shocked for a second, until he laughed and walked over to Sasuke. He ruffled his hair in a loving gesture and then patted his shoulder, “I’m just messing with ya’, kiddo. Don’t worry about it. I left you some miso soup, if you want. It’s better than that instant ramen I’m sure you were planning on making.”</p><p>Sasuke couldn’t hide the disgust from his voice. “Instant ramen?”</p><p>The man was already headed out the front door with a suitcase in hand when he froze at Sasuke’s tone of voice. He gave Sasuke a funny look. “Are you sure you’re alright, Naruto?”</p><p><em>Damn it, I’m not playing my role right</em>. “I–I, um yes, sir. I’m fine, really.”</p><p>He sighed but nodded, “Go to school. It doesn’t matter if you’re already late,” and then waved goodbye. However, Sasuke heard him muttering under his breath <em>did he just call me sir?</em> right before the door shut behind him.</p><p>Now alone in the apartment, Sasuke groaned aloud. He was already fucking this up majorly. Sir? Really? What had possessed him to say such a thing? He couldn’t remember the last time he’d called anybody sir, but the boy – <em>Naruto, right</em> – looked like the type who did. Guess he was wrong.</p><p>And school? He didn’t even know where his school was. Sasuke’s head ached dully with a booming headache. He’d love it if he could wake up right this second.</p><p>He found himself back in his room and stood in the middle of it, contemplating his next move. Hanging near the window, there was a school uniform that Sasuke assumed belonged to him. He stared idly at it, wondering if he should just put it on and try to find his school. Surely it couldn’t be too hard? After all, in Itomori, it was impossible to miss the school. There shouldn’t be much of a difference in this place.</p><p>The second he finished putting on the uniform, his cellphone let out a text alert. Sasuke followed the sound to where the phone was lying on the floor, right where he’d fallen earlier. He picked it up and read the message swiftly:</p><p>
  <strong>From Gaara: </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Where are you? Hurry up, you’re late. </strong>
</p><p><em>Gaara? Must be a friend</em>, he assumed. <em>I better get to school then, but, wait… I have to use the bathroom. Fuck.</em></p><p>He wasn’t looking forward to looking at another’s guy junk.</p><p>
  <em>Especially when I’ve never… </em>
</p><p>He sighed in annoyance, running his hand through his hair and faltering momentarily at the soft strands that fell through his fingers. He hadn’t expected it to feel so soft.</p><p>His phone buzzed again, and it was enough to send him rushing to the bathroom. Surprisingly, he relieved himself without too much of a hassle. He made sure to avoid staring at it directly, which had been rather awkward, but… it definitely could’ve been worse.</p><p>Before he stepped out of the apartment, he grabbed the horrendous orange backpack that had been lying carelessly by the front door and slung it over his shoulder. There was a fox keychain attached to the zipper that clinked lightly with every step Sasuke took.</p><p>Nothing could’ve prepared Sasuke for what waited for him outdoors. Not even the door harshly slamming shut behind him was enough to snap him out of his daze as he simply stared in awe, completely breathless, at the view before him.</p><p>Standing unmoving in an outside corridor, Sasuke took in the sight of the city he’d long dreamed of.</p><p>“Tokyo,” he breathed out enchanted.</p><p>The row of trees that lied below. The lines of tall, breathtaking buildings. The vast, clear blue sky. It was all too much. In the distance, Sasuke could see a tiny red tower that he recognized. The scenery was crawling with famous buildings Sasuke was familiar with, but the shock of finally seeing all of it with his own eyes left him unable to grasp the names of them.</p><p>It was, quite literally, the most gorgeous view Sasuke had ever seen.</p><p>To Sasuke, Tokyo was a city of wonder.</p><hr/><p>Sasuke never thought he’d be so grateful for his smartphone’s GPS, but there was always a first time for everything. Without it, he would’ve been lost. Well, <em>more</em> lost, since he did get on the wrong train a couple of times. It also didn’t help that he’d kept spacing out, completely mesmerized by the city and its people.</p><p>Luckily, he made it to school just in time for lunch.</p><p>“Uzumaki!”</p><p>
  <em>Man, why are all these people so loud? And I thought Karin was annoying…</em>
</p><p>A strong body suddenly collided against his and if it weren’t for his fast reflexes Sasuke’s phone would’ve fallen and most likely cracked against the pavement.</p><p>There was an arm now wrapped around his neck and a pair of knuckles rummaging his hair, “Are you deaf? I called out your name five times!”</p><p>Sasuke wiggled himself out of the boy’s deadlock, needing to create space between himself and the horrible dog breath that had hit his face. The culprit was a brown-haired boy with two red markings on his face and pointy teeth. He grinned amusedly at Sasuke with crinkled eyes. He seemed to be very fond of Sasuke – or well, of Naruto.</p><p>“What are you talking about? You didn’t…”</p><p><em>Oh shit! Uzumaki</em>! He’d read the last name on the photo ID he’d found in his bag, but he’d forgotten. <em>Oops</em>.</p><p>“Sorry about that. I didn’t hear you,” Sasuke said lamely, not being able to come up with a better excuse on the spot.</p><p>“Obviously!” the boy snorted, harshly slamming the palm of his hand on Sasuke’s back. He swallowed a wince and merely gave a weak smile.</p><p>
  <em>I swear, if he touches me again… </em>
</p><p>“Gaara said you were running late,” at the mention of a familiar name, Sasuke’s ears perked up, “so he sent me to come see if you’d arrive. Come on, we’re eating by the basketball courts.”</p><p>He dragged Sasuke down the hallway, returning his arm to its previous position around his neck. “You’re quiet today. What’s up with ya, dude?”</p><p><em>Quiet?</em> He wasn’t quiet. Sure, he tended to lean more towards the reserved side, but he wouldn’t describe himself as quiet. His friends had never complained but that was probably because Suigetsu and Karin spoke enough between the two of them for him.</p><p>He’d also just arrived. What did this guy expect? For Sasuke to be bouncing off the walls already?</p><p>Was that how this Naruto person usually acted? If it was, Sasuke already felt a spark of irritation bubbling underneath the surface. There was no way he could pull that off. After all, acting had never been one of his fortes. His dad could testament to that.</p><p>Before he knew it, they’d reached a secluded spot near some basketball courts where a current match was being held.</p><p>Dog Breath dropped to the floor in a crossed-legged position and Sasuke followed suit, sitting next to a redhead boy with such thin eyebrows Sasuke wasn’t sure if they were truly there or if the light was playing tricks on him. His eyes were a pale blue-green color and he had slight eyebags under them. Still, he was fairly attractive.</p><p>When Sasuke met his gaze, the redhead smiled smally at him with a pensive look in his eyes.</p><p>“Found our boy, Gaara,” Kiba announced with a slight groan as he stretched his arms over his head before slapping his hand on Sasuke’s back.</p><p><em>Again</em>.</p><p>“You never answered my question. Are you okay?”</p><p>“I’m fine,” Sasuke began to explain. “I just got lost and–”</p><p>“Lost?” the redhead, Gaara, interrupted him, his voice so low it actually made Sasuke tense slightly. “How did that happen? It’s your usual route.”</p><p>“Yeah, that’s pretty dumb, dude, even for you,” the other boy snorted, looking at Sasuke with a hint of confusion in his eyes. His amusement, however, tugged at his lips in a shape of a small grin.</p><p>Sasuke still didn’t know his name, so he ignored him, directing his attention to Gaara. “I felt like walking around and exploring Tokyo. There’s so much life here, it’s… captivating.”</p><p>Both boys blinked at him. “Captivating?”</p><p>Sasuke frowned at Dog Breath, “Um, fascinating.”</p><p>Gaara raised a thin eyebrow at him. Sasuke tried again, “Annoying?”</p><p>At that, they nodded in relief, and Sasuke had to stop himself from sharing his own as well.</p><p>“All you do is complain about how busy and noisy it is here,” Gaara supplied, eyeing Sasuke suspiciously. “You’ve never once described Tokyo as ‘captivating’.”</p><p>This time, Sasuke released a sigh. “Whatever.” It was clear he was failing spectacularly at playing this role. These two, especially Gaara, saw right through him.</p><p>
  <em>Why on earth am I dreaming about this? </em>
</p><p>“And what’s up with that accent?”</p><p>“Kiba,” Gaara scolded him, but Sasuke didn’t miss the mirth in his gaze.</p><p>
  <em>Kiba! That’s his name. Noted. Wait, accent?!</em>
</p><p>“I don’t have an accent!” Sasuke snapped, crossing his arms over his chest. <em>Or do I?</em></p><p>Kiba laughed and raised his hands in mock surrender before he brought his hand to his lips and mimicked closing a zipper. Sasuke glowered in barely contained annoyance. Kiba reminded him of Suigetsu, only ten times more insufferable.</p><p>“Kiba’s just riling you up,” Gaara rolled his eyes. “It’s his way of showing he’s worried about you.”</p><p>“H-Hey!” Kiba let out an indignant yelp. “Will you shut up, man? ‘m not worried about him…”</p><p>He didn’t sound convincing at all, which actually made Sasuke chuckle. “Cute,” he smirked, “but I told you, I’m fine.”</p><p>Kiba nodded, although now that Sasuke knew what to look for, he could see the slight worry etched on his face. “Are you good for work today? We got shifts after school, remember?”</p><p><em>Work, huh?</em> This Tokyo life was already overwhelming Sasuke, but in an exciting way. There was so much to do here, nothing like in Itomori.</p><p>“Work, right, I remember,” he easily lied, scratching at his cheek distractedly. He tried to sound casual as he asked, “We’ll go together, yeah?”</p><p>“Yeah, bro, we always do,” Kiba scoffed before grinning mischievously at Sasuke. “Are ya scared you’ll get lost again?”</p><p>“I’m this close to shoving my foot up your ass,” Sasuke threatened, this time earning a laugh out of Gaara as well. A beat later he joined in, feeling strangely at ease with these two strangers.</p><p>If this was what Tokyo was truly like, he couldn’t wait for the day he actually left Itomori.</p><hr/><p>“Naruto! Stop dragging your feet!”</p><p>
  <em>Shit.</em>
</p><p>“Excuse me, young man. Is our food ready?”</p><p>
  <em>Give me a break.</em>
</p><p>“Naruto! Get out of the way! God, you’re slow today!”</p><p>
  <em>Seriously?</em>
</p><p>“You messed up their order <em>again</em>, Naruto!”</p><p>
  <em>Screw this!</em>
</p><p>Had he said he was enjoying his Tokyo life? Scratch that, he was one hundred percent ready to wake up from this nightmare.</p><p>Apparently, he worked as a waiter at a very posh Italian restaurant that intimidated Sasuke immensely. He’d never had a job before. There were no fancy restaurants in Itomori. Besides, his family was, well, comfortable. They didn’t struggle in the money department, so Sasuke had no reason to seek a part-time job. But for the first time he actually regretted not having worked a single day in his life before. He was so out of his league here.</p><p>He’d been messing up so horribly that his boss Asuma had even pulled him aside to ask what was wrong with him and if he needed to take the rest of the day off. He’d refused automatically. Uchiha’s never ran away from their problems. Sasuke would suck it up until the end of his shift and that was that.</p><p>“Hey, ‘Scuse me, boy.”</p><p>Sasuke walked over to the customer who’d flagged him down. “Can I help you?” It didn’t come off as nice as it should’ve.</p><p>The man looked like a creep. He had his grey hair slicked back with gel and a nasty glint in his eyes. He was wearing a black open-collared shirt that matched his black pants. Around his neck was a thick, golden chain with a cross in the middle that rested between his collarbone. For some reason, just looking at him set Sasuke off, but he tried to conceal it.</p><p>Even his voice was chilling when he said, “There was a toothpick in my pizza.”</p><p>Sasuke stared at him before blurting out, “Huh?”</p><p>“A toothpick,” he spoke to Sasuke slowly, as if he were speaking to a child. Instantly, Sasuke’s nostrils flared. The man pointed a lazy finger down to his plate where there was a toothpick poking out of a leftover slice of pizza. It clearly looked staged. Even an idiot could see that. “Can you imagine how bad it would’ve been if I’d accidentally swallowed it?”</p><p>
  <em>You would’ve been doing the world a favor… </em>
</p><p>“What are you going to do about it?”</p><p>Sasuke raised an unamused eyebrow at him, “What do you expect me to do?”</p><p>The man clearly wasn’t expecting for Sasuke to talk back at him because his face turned an alarming shade of red. He practically seethed, “Are you giving me attitude, kid?”</p><p>“I don’t know,” Sasuke let out a bored sigh, “am I?”</p><p>“You little shit!” The man seemingly slammed his knee against the table, causing a loud sound to ring out across the room. By now people were staring, but Sasuke was going to back down. “Do you know who you’re speaking to?”</p><p>“Hidan–” a voice whispered, and only then did Sasuke notice that the customer wasn’t alone. He was accompanied by an eerie looking man with pale, scaly skin.</p><p>
  <em>Ugh, who are these creeps?</em>
</p><p>“Stay out of this, Zetsu! This punk is asking for it.”</p><p>Sasuke turned back to him with an overly exaggerated smile, “Apparently, I’m speaking to <em>Hidan</em>, right?” He leaned in slightly, making sure the man knew he wasn’t the least bit intimidated. “You expect me to believe that toothpick just happened to be there? If you do, I’m not the moron here, <em>you</em> are.”</p><p>“Why, you–!”</p><p>Sasuke braced himself with hands fisted to his sides when he was suddenly tugged away, and that familiar scent of dog infiltrated his nostrils. He didn’t put up a fight, knowing it was probably for the best, but he looked over his shoulder and saw a girl with pink hair was now speaking to those pricks.</p><p>
  <em>Pink hair. Is that the girl from the drawings? </em>
</p><p>“Naruto, what’s up with you today? You looked like you were two seconds away from beating the shit out of that guy,” Kiba asked in concern.  </p><p>“That’s because I was,” Sasuke growled. He hesitated and made move to turn back, but Kiba gripped his arm tightly. “Let me just–”</p><p>“No!” Kiba continued to drag him to the back of the restaurant. “You need to cool off. Let Sakura handle this.”</p><p>“Sakura? Is that her name?” he asked aloud, then shut his mouth. <em>Shit</em>. He shouldn’t have said that.</p><p>Now Kiba looked at him completely bewildered. “Dude, you’re freaking me out. Why don’t you go into the back and help clean up? We’re almost done here anyways. Asuma won’t mind.”</p><p>Sasuke nodded numbly and watched Kiba give him one agitated look before he retreated back to wait tables.</p><hr/><p>An hour later, he found himself vacuuming the restaurant’s floor with one of those large, industrial vacuum cleaners. The restaurant was now empty, and everybody was helping clean up after the customers.</p><p>It was then that a hand tapped him on his shoulder and there she was, the girl from the drawings, the one who’d rescued him earlier. She had her hands on her hips and was looking at Sasuke with slight exasperation. She was staring at Sasuke like she didn’t quite recognize him.</p><p>Wordlessly, Sasuke switched off the vacuum and stared back at Sakura.</p><p>“Well?” she demanded.</p><p>“Well what?”</p><p>“Aren’t you going to apologize?” she huffed, chewing on her bottom lip.</p><p>Sasuke felt confused. “Apologize for what?”</p><p>“For making me save your ass!” She swatted him on the arm with surprising force. Sasuke felt the urge to rub at the spot that she’d just hit, but he didn’t want to give her the satisfaction.</p><p>“I'm sorry?” It came out more like a question than anything else, and Sakura rolled her eyes at him.</p><p>“That was a quite a scene you made. You usually don’t blow up in front of customers, you wait until they’re gone.”</p><p>“I didn’t ‘blow up’” Sasuke made air quotes with his fingers, “I simply called him out on his shit. Was I not supposed to?”</p><p>Sakura cocked her head to the side, looking slightly surprised. “Well, no, but…”</p><p>“But?”</p><p>“I handled it according to manual, but I guess he did deserve it,” she finally admitted.</p><p>“Damn right he did!” a voice joined in from the side. Sasuke looked over and spotted a girl with dark hair, almost purple, stripping down a table. When she looked over at him, Sasuke startled at her lavender eyes. “I heard the entire thing and wanted to join in, but, of course I-I didn’t. Still, that was pretty brave of you, Naruto.”</p><p>“Thanks…” Sasuke trailed off, feeling oddly uncomfortable at all the fuzz. He didn’t see why she was praising him. Aren’t they taught that bullshit about how the customers are always right? Sasuke definitely hadn’t followed that instruction.</p><p>“Hinata’s right, it was brave of you, Naruto.” She gave Sasuke a curious glance before a slight blush began to spread across her cheeks. Noticing this, she quickly turned away and walked off to join Hinata.</p><p>Sasuke felt like he’d miss something. Before he could ponder about it, Kiba appeared at his side, nudging Sasuke’s stomach with his elbow. Under his breath, he whispered, “Holy shit, man. Did you just make Sakura blush?”</p><p>“I think so.” He wasn’t sure why, but he had, hadn’t he?</p><p>“How are you so calm? That’s the most reaction you’ve gotten out of her since the entire time you’ve known her. Shouldn’t you be ecstatic?”</p><p>Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows, “Why would I be?”</p><p>“Um, maybe because you’ve been in love with Sakura for years?” Sasuke blinked, causing Kiba to groan. “Jesus Christ, you’re so fucking out of it today.”</p><p>So, he’d been right. Naruto had an unrequited crush on Sakura. Well, judging by all those drawings, an obsession was a more accurate description, but…</p><p>Kiba suddenly looked like he’d realize something. He looked around their surroundings, making sure nobody was listening, before he leaned in and spoke even lower to Sasuke, “Does this have anything to do with what you told me and Gaara about a month ago?”</p><p>God, Sasuke was so fucking lost. Living a double life, even if it was just a dream, was so exhausting. How on earth was he supposed to know what he’d supposedly said a month ago?</p><p>“What are you talking about?”</p><p>“You know,” Kiba shrugged, looking uncomfortable all of the sudden, like he was choosing his next words carefully to not offend Sasuke. “About… liking guys too and all that.”</p><p>Sasuke reeled back, “What?”</p><p>What was he– Oh?</p><p>
  <em>Oh. So, Naruto is bisexual.</em>
</p><p>For some odd reason, Sasuke’s heart jumped.</p><p>
  <em>What the fuck? None of this is even real. Get a grip over yourself.</em>
</p><p>The tips of Kiba’s ears were bright pink. “I just mean, now that you like boys, maybe there’s a boy you’re interested in?” Sasuke still said nothing, which seemed to only make Kiba even more flustered. “Or well, I guess that doesn’t make sense since you’ve always liked boys, right? You didn’t just wake up liking boys… or maybe you did? Shit, I don’t know what I’m saying anymore, Naruto, I’m just trying to–  H-Hey, quit laughing at me!”</p><p>Sasuke couldn’t help it. Kiba was such an idiot. He clearly meant well, but the harder he tried the more he put his foot in his mouth. It was far too amusing to Sasuke.</p><p>He slapped Kiba over his head, biting back a laugh. “For the love of God, please stop talking.”</p><p>Kiba scowled while rubbing a hand over the spot where Sasuke had just hit him. He opened his mouth to speak, but Sasuke beat him to it, placing a hand on his shoulder, “You really are a worrywart, huh? Gaara was right.”</p><p>“Shut up! I’m not worried!” He shrugged Sasuke’s hand off his shoulder with a furious blush on his face. “I just–” Kiba paused, taking in a slow breath and visibly relaxing before continuing, “I remember how nervous you were when you told us, and I don’t want you feeling uncomfortable around me or Gaara anymore. We’re your best friends. We’re cool with it. You know that, right?”</p><p>For a second, Sasuke wondered how his friends would react if he ever came out to them. Karin would most likely freak out, not because she’d have a problem with him being gay but because it’d mean she’d have zero chance with him, but surely, she’d get over it quickly. Suigetsu would probably be the most annoying about it, and Juugo wouldn’t even blink an eye.</p><p>Still, he couldn’t imagine having a heart-to-heart with them about it like he was currently having with Kiba. Sasuke just wasn’t the type to do so.</p><p>Therefore, he felt his stomach churn in discomfort as Kiba continued to look at him with nothing but earnest and genuine eyes.</p><p>Quietly, he said, “Yes, I know.” And for some reason, Sasuke <em>did</em> know. Deep down inside, despite this being just a dream, there was a force that pushed Sasuke to believe so. It didn’t even feel like it came from him. “Now stop worrying and pick up the slack. You’ve barely cleaned anything.”</p><p>Like a switch had been flicked, Kiba went from solemn and determined to astonished and amused. He practically howled, “That’s rich coming from you! Asuma was so close to firing your ass tonight. I don’t think you took a single order right.”</p><p>Sasuke glared at him, feeling embarrassed at the truth behind his words. He really had messed up badly tonight. The fact that this was merely a dream and therefore held no serious consequences was what relieved Sasuke.</p><p>Behind Kiba, two pale, frail hands sneaked up and placed themselves on his shoulders. Kiba startled at the same time a gentle voice spoke in his ear, “Boo!”</p><p>Kiba instantly recognized the voice, judging by the way there was color once again spreading over his cheeks. Sasuke watched as Kiba glanced over his shoulder and looked down at the culprit. It was the girl who’d chimed in earlier in his conversation with Sakura. Hinata, was it?</p><p>“Got you again!” Hinata grinned, coming to stand beside Kiba and Sasuke. She smiled warmly at Sasuke before returning her gaze back to Kiba, peering up at him through her eyelashes while tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and, <em>oh, I see.</em></p><p>Sasuke stifled a snort at the way Kiba looked like he was going to throw up any second.</p><p>“H-Hey, Hinata,” Kiba’s voice wobbled as he scratched the tip of his nose. “You always do. You’re too damn sneaky.”</p><p>“That I am,” she hummed, twirling her fingers behind her back. “I was wondering if you wanted to walk with me to the train station?”</p><p>She looked at Kiba with hopeful eyes, but Kiba, the fucking idiot, looked at her confusedly, “Don’t you always walk with Sakura?”</p><p>Since Hinata’s attention was solely on Kiba, Sasuke was able to widen his eyes at Kiba, shaking his head and mouthing, <em>you’re a moron</em>, without Hinata catching him.</p><p>Kiba frowned slightly as Hinata visibly deflated, “W-Well, yes, but she actually just took off. We’re practically done here, so… I f-figured I’d ask you, but it’s okay if you don’t w-want to…”</p><p>“No!” Sasuke practically yelled. Both Kiba and Hinata flinched and Sasuke almost slapped his hand over his mouth. “I mean, yes, Kiba would love to walk with you. Wouldn’t you, Kiba?”</p><p>Sasuke practically sneered the last question and Kiba choked on a breath. He looked like he’d shit his pants when he nodded. “Of course, of course! I’ll walk with you, Hinata, it’s no problem!”</p><p>Hinata looked slightly exasperated as if she too thought that Kiba was a dork, but there was fondness in her eyes as well. “Great! Thanks!” To Sasuke she said, “Naruto, you can take off too. Kiba and I can finish up here.”</p><p>“Don’t have to tell me twice.”</p><p>Sasuke quickly handed over the vacuum to Kiba, which he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding onto this entire time. Kiba, on the other hand, looked pale as a ghost. Sasuke smirked widely at him and sent him a wink his way. If Kiba wanted the girl, he’d have to work for it. There wasn’t anything he could do to help him.</p><p>With that, he quickly said his farewells and left them alone, not wanting to further intrude. He grabbed his jacket on the way out and pulled it over his arms before leaving out the employee exit. It led to a dark, secluded alley that connected to the main sidewalk.</p><p>When he stepped out, a blast of the oddly cold wind sliced through his jacket. It was September, so the coldness of the wind surprised him, but he shrugged it off and simply crossed his arms underneath his armpits.</p><p>It was only then that he noticed he wasn’t alone in the alley. A few steps in front of him was Sakura, slowly being cornered against the wall by a man. Her eyes were fired up in anger and her hands were balled into fists.</p><p>“I wouldn’t touch me if I were you,” he heard her threaten, her voice not wavering in the slightest.</p><p>A chilling chuckle echoed in the alley. “Aren’t you a feisty one? I’m going to have so much fun with you.”</p><p>Sasuke instantly recognized that voice. It was Hidan, the customer from earlier. A vortex of fury swirled inside of him at the realization and before he knew it, he’d cross the few steps left and had grabbed Hidan by the collar of his jacket, pulling him off of Sakura and slamming him to the ground.</p><p>“Naruto!”</p><p>He could hear Sakura yelling at him, but all he could focus on was the disgusting prick that now squirmed under him as Sasuke straddled him, already bringing his fist down to connect with the side of Hidan’s face.</p><p>Blood instantly splattered across his face, but the man barely even flinched. He spit out blood to the side before looking up at Sasuke with wild eyes and an evil grin.</p><p>“Looks like Pretty Boy is more than just bark.”</p><p>Sasuke stared at him with nothing but disgust. Hidan continued, “I just wanted to have some fun with your girlfriend over there. She’s a cute one. You shouldn’t leave her alone like that.”</p><p>“You fucking piece of shit!” Sasuke slammed his fist down again, ignoring the pain that shot through his arm because of it.</p><p>Hidan, still unfazed, recovered right away, not caring in the slightest that he probably had a broken nose. Sasuke only had a second to think, <em>what a creep,</em> before Hidan finally retaliated, slamming his head upwards into Sasuke’s cheek.</p><p>The brute force of it was enough to knock Sasuke backwards, falling off of Hidan and on the ground, groaning in agony as he clutched at the side of his face. He remained on the ground; his head pressed against the cold pavement when he bleary spotted Hidan up on his feet.</p><p>The man was laughing, speaking what seemed to be incoherently to Sasuke since the ringing his ears made it hard for him to decipher Hidan’s words.</p><p>He heard the slight rasp of Hidan’s heel grinding against the pavement as he pulled his feet back to kick Sasuke in the face, but before he could he was tackled to the ground.</p><p>Sasuke finally managed to sit up. He blinked through the haze only to find it’d been <em>Sakura</em> who’d stopped Hidan. She was now mirroring Sasuke’s previous position, except she was managing to get in more blows than Sasuke had before he’d let his guard down.</p><p>When he finally stood up – disregarding the dizziness that swirled in his head – he pulled Sakura off of Hidan. She practically growled at Sasuke, but he tightened his hold on her and spoke in her ear, “Hey, that’s enough. He’s done. Look at him. He’s done.”</p><p>And Sasuke was right. Hidan was practically passed out, whimpering almost pathetically with his eyes screwed shut and his face a bloody mess.</p><p>Sakura turned in Sasuke’s arms, staring into his eyes as she tried to calm down. Sasuke noticed she was shaking, so he quickly let her go to rub his hands over her arms in what he hoped was a soothing gesture.</p><p>“It’s alright. You’re safe. I’m right here with you.”</p><p>She took in a deep breath before she nodded shakily. Her face was flushed red in adrenaline, but Sasuke was relieved to find she didn’t have a single scratch on her, minus a few bruises that were beginning to bloom on her knuckles. A hysterical chuckle blubbered out of his mouth, “You’re tough as hell. You managed to overpower him.”</p><p>Sakura looked proud at Sasuke’s acknowledgement. “Did you think all those martial arts classes I’ve been taken were for nothing? I can beat anybody’s ass if I want to.” She turned back to Hidan and towered over him. “He should’ve listened to me when I warned him.” Then she spat in his face before letting out a huff and spinning on her heels, walking out of the alley.</p><p>Sasuke observed her walk away, understanding why Naruto had an infatuation with her. She really was something. He had a sneaking suspicion that if she and Karin would to ever meet, they’d be the world’s most dangerous duo. He inwardly shivered.</p><p>“Naruto?” Sakura’s voice broke him away from his thoughts. She stood at the end of the alley with a hand on her hip. “Aren’t you coming?”</p><p>“One second.”</p><p>He crouched down to Hidan’s level and leaned into his face. With as much venom as he could muster, he gritted out, “If you ever come near her again, I’ll personally blind you.”</p><p>Without another glance, Sasuke followed Sakura out, the beat-up body of Hidan long forgotten.</p><p>He joined her on the sidewalk and began to walk beside her to where he hoped was the train station. He wasn’t too keen on getting lost again and much less this late at night.</p><p>After a couple of minutes of silence, Sakura spoke.</p><p>“You’re quiet today.”</p><p>That was the second time he’d heard that.</p><p>“Am I?”</p><p>“We just beat up some random creep and you haven’t said a single word about it. Something’s different about you.”</p><p>Sasuke sighed. This dream had alarmingly dragged on for too long. Why hadn’t he woken up yet?</p><p>“It’s a good different,” Sakura blurted out. When Sasuke looked at her from the corner of his eyes, she was biting her lip and flushing furiously. “You’ve been so cool and calm. Sure, you snapped at that asshole earlier, but clearly for good reason. And the way you stepped in to help me, even though I didn’t need it… it was nice. Thank you, Naruto.”</p><p>“Hn.”</p><p>When their gazes met, Sasuke could feel something had shifted in the air. She was looking at him differently than she had when he first saw her at the restaurant. Differently than in all the drawings he’d found this morning.</p><p>He wasn’t sure why or how. He hadn’t really done anything, except step in to help her, but wouldn’t had this Naruto guy done the same thing for her? Sasuke was sure he would’ve. So why was she so impressed by his actions?</p><p>They didn’t speak for the rest of the walk, but Sakura seemed content by that, if the small, pleased smile on her lips said anything about it. When they reached the train station, Sasuke hovered awkwardly, unsure of how to say goodbye to her. Did they normally hug? Or just wave at each other? He didn’t want to mess this up for Naruto.</p><p>
  <em>Not that it even matters. This is just some dumb dream.</em>
</p><p>Sakura halted his inner turmoil by suddenly giving him a swift kiss on his good cheek. When she stepped back, it was with a shy smile but perky eyes.</p><p>“Make sure to ice that cheek of yours. If I were you, I’d be dreading having to explain that to Iruka.” She shook her head in mirth and then waved, “Good luck! Thanks again, Naruto!”</p><p>Absentmindedly, Sasuke reached up to touch his bruised cheek, processing Sakura’s words.</p><p>
  <em>Iruka, huh...</em>
</p><hr/><p>When Sasuke stepped into his apartment, there was a man lounging on the living room couch with a book in his hands, shielding his face. He knew it wasn’t Iruka, the man from this morning, because there was grey hair peeking out from behind the book. Sasuke froze in the threshold, his bag sliding slowly down his arm until it fell with a <em>thump</em> on the ground.</p><p>The stranger didn’t even stir. Behind his book he called out, “Hello there, Naruto. Iruka is in the shower. He’s gonna want to know why you’re home so late. I’m sure you already have an excuse up your sleeve though.”</p><p>Millions of questions flashed through Sasuke’s mind.</p><p>
  <em>Who are you? Why are you here? How do you know me? How do you know Iruka? Do you live here? If you do, why weren’t you here this morning? </em>
</p><p>Out of all the questions, the one that managed to escape his mouth was, “Are you reading porn?”</p><p>The man barked out a chuckle. “Shouldn’t you be used to my choice of literature by now?” The man finally lowered his book to rest it on his chest, revealing eyes crinkled shut in a smile and mouth covered by a mask.</p><p>
  <em>What a strange man. </em>
</p><p>When he opened them, Sasuke practically felt all the mirth evaporate from them as they narrowed in on him. Before he could even blink, the man was in front of him, grabbing Sasuke’s face with both hands and angling it to the side.</p><p>“Who did this to you?” The man’s voice left no space for humor. It was almost deadly. His mismatched eyes were roaming intensely over Sasuke’s face in search of more injuries. He pressed two fingers over Sasuke’s bruised cheek and he involuntarily winced. The man’s eyes flashed again steely. “Answer the question, Naruto.”</p><p>Sasuke batted his hands away. The man’s gaze practically pinned itself to Sasuke’s knuckles, catching sight of the cuts and dried blood that resided on them. “Who did this to you? I’m not going to ask you again.”</p><p>When Sasuke said nothing, unsure of how to proceed, the man continued, “Did you think you could show up here and we weren’t going to ask questions? That <em>Iruka</em> wasn’t going to demand answers? Just wait until he gets out of the shower and takes a look at you.”</p><p>“What’s going on here?” a voice called out from behind them and Sasuke caught the rigidness in the grey-haired man’s shoulders. “Kakashi?”</p><p>Iruka came forward, his hair out of his ponytail and dripping wet on the floor, until he stood next to Kakashi, squeezing his shoulder briefly before letting his hand caress down Kakashi’s arm.</p><p><em>They’re lovers</em>, Sasuke realized.</p><p>The now panicked look on Iruka’s face would’ve been hilarious if he didn’t feel oddly guilty that it was because of him.</p><p>“Naruto, you brat! Did you get into a fight?! For the love of…” he pinched his nose, inhaling and exhaling strongly. “You have five seconds to explain yourself.”</p><p>It suddenly became clear to Sasuke that this was how two parents tended to act when their son came home hurt. He’d never experienced it before, what with his mother dying when he was so young and his father never giving a shit about him or Itachi. It made Sasuke’s chest constrict in sadness just thinking about what he’d been robbed from.</p><p>But then, almost fleetingly, Sasuke saw Itachi and Shisui standing in Iruka and Kakashi’s place, and although it was clear the situations were different, he <em>had</em> lived through this before. Itachi and Shisui had been loving and caring for him for years, just like any parents.</p><p>Slightly choked up, Sasuke began to explain, “There was this asshole customer who tried to hurt Sakura. I stepped in and we got into it.” He shrugged, attempting to play off the entire thing. “If anything, you should see him.”</p><p>Kakashi’s face didn’t reveal much, but Iruka looked slightly less worried. He asked, “And Sakura? Is she alright?”</p><p>Sasuke scoffed with a half-smile. “Yeah, she’s fine. She was actually the one who ended up beating the shit out him. I wasn’t really much help,” Sasuke confessed.</p><p>At that, Kakashi whistled, “Somehow that doesn’t surprise me. The way you’ve talked about Sakura, she’s always seemed like a fearless young woman you wouldn’t want to mess with.”  </p><p>He nodded in agreement, finding no lie in Kakashi’s statement, even if he barely knew her.</p><p>“I’m glad you’re safe, but you can’t be getting into fights like this, Naruto. I don’t want you falling down that path again.” <em>Again?</em> “That man could’ve been dangerous. You and Sakura could’ve been seriously hurt. What would I have done then, huh?” Iruka visibly swallowed harshly. “I know you’re not my blood… but you <em>are</em> my son, you hear me?”</p><p>Sasuke didn’t miss the way Kakashi’s eyes softened at Iruka’s words, reaching out to intertwine his fingers with Iruka’s.</p><p>This all felt wrong. It felt too real. It didn’t feel like a dream at all. These people, this life. It all felt like it belonged to someone else and Sasuke was an intruder. These words weren’t meant for him to hear. They were meant for Naruto.</p><p>But that was stupid, because of course, Naruto wasn’t real, and this was all a dream.</p><p>Still, Sasuke couldn’t shake it off.</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I know, Iruka. I know. You’re right. It won’t happen again, alright?” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Such simple words, but it’d taken a lot out of Sasuke to say. The abundance of emotions swirling in the air was practically choking him. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Don’t make promises you can’t keep. You know better than that,” Kakashi scolded, clearly in an attempt to lighten the mood. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It seemed to work, because Iruka’s shoulders sagged as he bumped one against Kakashi’s with a shake of his head and a small smile. “You’re not really helping, you know.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“What?” Kakashi bumped him back while sneaking in a hand to tug at one of Iruka’s long locks. “I’m being realistic! The kid’s a menace!” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Realistic? You’re practically encouraging his bad behavior!”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Maa, Iruka, I wouldn’t call it bad behavior. He stepped in to help a friend. Not just any friend, but <em>Sakura</em>. This might be just what he needed to wiggle his way into her heart. Maybe now we won’t have to listen to him go on and on about her…”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hmm, well, I supposed you have a point. He does talk an awful lot about her, doesn’t he?” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“A lot? I’d say-” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Um, hello?” Sasuke interrupted. “I’m literally right here.” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Both men paused before erupting into laughter. In a flash, they had him wrapped up in a group hug. Sasuke felt teasing, smothered kisses being pressed against his face - narrowly avoiding his bruised cheek - and hands slapped on his back before he managed to break away, cheeks slightly pink as he fought a treacherous smile. He wasn’t used to such a display of affection, but… it’d actually felt kinda nice. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Not that he’d ever admit it though. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Before he disappeared down the hallway, he stopped walking to look at Iruka over his shoulder. “Hey, Iruka?” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hmm?” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Uh, thanks.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“What for?” Iruka hummed. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">For caring about him? For showing him what a family looked like? For making him realize he’s actually had one in Itachi and Shisui this entire time? </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Of course, he’d never say any of that. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Just thanks,” Sasuke decided on with a shrug. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Iruka looked at him curiously before regarding him with a warm grin. “Goodnight, Naruto.”</span>
</p><hr/><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It was with a yawn that Sasuke threw himself onto the bed. He was so tired, he could practically feel it in his bones, although that was more likely a result of his earlier scuffle with Hidan.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> <em>Man, what a realistic dream. </em> </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He couldn’t believe he hadn’t woken up yet. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It puzzled him that he actually felt tired, but still, he didn’t see the point of trying to fall asleep, since none of this was actually real. Instead, he was browsing his - or well, Naruto’s - smartphone idly in an act of boredom. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> <em>What’s this? </em> </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He clicked on an app that revealed to be a diary. There was no way to repress the snort that came out of his nose. </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1"> <b>09/03: Had my friends over for ramen.</b> </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1"> <b>08/29: Went to the movies with Gaara. </b> </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1"> <b>08/24: Sakura let me draw her again :)</b> </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1"> <em>Usuratonkachi… what a dork.</em> </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">There were so many different entries. Naruto seemed obsessed with documenting every aspect of his life. Sasuke read all the way back to the June entries before he switched to the photos app. He almost gasped aloud at all the photos that appeared on the screen. </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">How was it possible to have the time - no, the <em>dedication </em>- to take so many photos?</span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">There were many of his best friends, Gaara and Kiba. Eating ramen together, walking a pack of dogs at a park, Kiba doodling on Gaara’s sleeping face, his murderous eyes when he woke up and caught Kiba. </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">Some were of Iruka. At first, it was just Iruka and Naruto in the photos, until Kakashi began to slowly show up in them. </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">But the majority of the photos were landscapes. Sasuke recognized them from a couple of the drawings that were currently hanging on Naruto’s bedroom walls. </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">The rest of the photos were of Sakura. </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">Sakura smiling with an ice cream cone in her hand. </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">Sakura cleaning the restaurant window. </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">Sakura sticking her tongue out at Naruto. </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">Sakura, Sakura, Sakura. </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1"> <em>He really likes her… </em> </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">This morning, Sasuke could’ve sworn it was unrequited, but after tonight he wasn’t so sure anymore. He didn’t know how that made him feel.</span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">In a spur of a moment decision, he switched back to the diary app and began to write an entry of his day.</span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1"><em>I can’t believe I’m doing this</em>, he muttered inside his head. </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">He wrote about his confusion at waking up in Naruto’s body. Meeting Iruka for breakfast. Stumbling out the door only to find he was in Tokyo. Getting lost on his way to school. Hanging out with Kiba and Gaara. Failing miserably at his job. His altercation with Hidan during and after work. </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">Walking home with Sakura. He made sure to describe in vidid detail every moment of it, knowing for some reason that - if this were real - Naruto would definitely appreciate it. </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">When he finished, he dropped his phone to the side and stared up at the ceiling, waiting for sleep to drift him away, or rather wake him up. It was with a <em>bang</em> that Sasuke abruptly sat up in bed, the memory of finding a strange question scribbled in his notebook bombarding his mind. </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1"> <em>Who are you?</em> </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">Before, he had no recollection of writing such question, but now he could almost picture himself, no, not himself, but <em>Naruto</em>, hunched over his desk in Itomori, jotting down the line in his notebook before bed. </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">The vision left as fast it’d come. </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1"> <em>Had that been real?</em> </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">It couldn’t be.</span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1"> <em>Still…</em> </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">Sasuke got out of bed and walked over to Naruto’s desk. He grabbed the first marker he could find and wrote on the palm of his hand: </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1"> <b> <em>Sasuke</em> </b> </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">With that, he dropped the marker back on the desk and crawled back into bed. It was with a slight smirk, at the thought of imagining Naruto’s dumbfounded expression at seeing Sasuke’s name on his hand, that he finally fell asleep. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>i would VERY much appreciate comments, thoughts, anything you want to say. Comments really motivate me to continue on writing :)) even a smiley face makes my entire day! </p><p>Take care and stay safe, everyone! Happy Holidays! Hope u enjoyed this chapter as a gift from me to all of u &lt;333 see u next time with naruto's pov!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>comments and kudos are very much appreciated!!!! :))</p><p>Please come say hi at my <a href="https://moviekid826.tumblr.com/">tumblr</a> or <a href="https://twitter.com/_moviekidd826">twitter</a> :)))</p></blockquote></div></div>
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